Wrench.



A. STUEWB WRENCH APPLICATION FILED APR. 21. 191].

Patented Oct. 30, 1917.

INVENTOR WITNESSES earner canton nnonrn sronwn, or ALMA, -KANSAS.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. so, 1917.

Application filed April 21, 1917. Serial No. 163,630.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AnoLPI-r Sronwn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alma, in thecounty of l vabaunsee and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in lVrenches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wrenches, and more especially to those using a flexible element such as a chain, and a pivoted lever for tightening this element; and the object of the same isto greatly simplify a wrench of the alligator jaw type and to increase its scope of usefulness by providing a chain for drawing the work into the jaw, and means for straining the chain taut at the time of use.

This object is carried out by constructing the wrench in the manner hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of this wrench complete, the lever being shown as moved down against the handle so as to tighten the chain. 7 c

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the length of the device, and an elevation of the chain and its operating lever with the latter raised.

Fig. 3 is a detail of one link of the chain, showing the teeth thereon for biting around piece of work such as a pipe.

The body portion of this improved wrench comprises a handle 1 of suitable length, at whose outer end is a rigid head 2, and from the latter project alligator jaws 3 and 4t having teeth 5 on their inner converging edges. These jaws may be bifurcated or split as best seen in Fig. l for the reception of the chain element between them as yet to be described, but to all intents and purposes there are two jaws with converging inner faces as in the well-known, form of alligator-jaw wrench, and the teeth may have such forma tion as is preferred.

The numeral 10 designates a chain which is connected at one end at the point 11 with the head 2 and stands within the space between the arms or bifurcations of the two jaws, its other end passing around the opposite side of the head or preferably through a notch 6 formed in the latter as indicated in the drawings, and its extremity attached at 12 to a small handle or lever l3which is pivoted at one end at the point 14 to the head and has its handle end lying alongside the main handle 1 as seen. Alongside the lever extends a thumb latch 15 whose free end lies adjacent the handle thereof and whose other end engages the teeth on a sector 16 carried by the head, said teeth being preferably ratchet-shaped as shown.

Vfith this construction of parts a piece of work such as apipe P is passed between the jaws 3 and and under the chain while the latter is loose, and then the lever 13 is turned downward around its pivot 14 so that its handle end is brought toward the main handle, the tip of the thumb latch 15 sliding over the teeth of the sector 16 as usual. -When sufficient tension has been put on the chain to draw the pipe P down between the toothed edges 5 of the jaws 3 and 4, the thumb latch is released and its tip engages the proper tooth in the sector to hold the parts in this position and to force the round piece of work between the roughened edges of the alligator-jaws, so that thereafter when the main handle 1 is moved in either direction the work is rotated accordingly. To release the work, all that is necessary is to trip the thumb latch, move the lever 13 to loosen the chain, and withdraw the pipe from beneath it.

In Fig. 3 I have shown how one of the links 20 of the chain may itself be provided with teeth 21 along that edge which lies next the work, and if this detail is provided the chain itself bites into the work and prevents the rotation thereof when under strain. However, if the teeth 5 on the jaw-faces are of proper shape and sufficiently sharp, it may not be necessary to employ teeth on the links of the chain, especially if said links are made quite angular or rough rather than smooth and round as usual in the commoner forms of chains. I would not wish to be limited to details of construction other than as embodied in the following claims. 1

What is claimed as new is 1. In a wrench of the character described, the combination with a rigid head having a pair of toothed alligator jaws projecting in one direction and a main handle in the other direction; of a chain connected to the outside of one jaw, passing across the space between them, and extending along the outside of the opposite jaw, a supplemental handle pivoted to said head and to which the chain is attached, and means on the head for locking the supplemental handle when it is moved toward the main handle to put the chain under tension. 7

2. In a wrench of the class described, the combination with a head notched in one edge, a main handle projecting rigidly in one direction from said head, and a pair of bifurcated jaws projecting rigidly in the opposite direction from said head and having their inner faces diverging and provided with teeth; or" a chain lying in said bitur cation and attached at one extremity to the head, its body passing thence between the arms of the bifurcated jaws and through said notch, a lever pivoted to said head and connected with the other extremity of said chain, a thumb latch on said lever, and a toothed sector carried by the head and over Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents which the tip of said thumb latch moves, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a wrench of the type described, the combination with a pair of alligator jaws bifurcated transversely to the opening between them and toothed on their inner edges,

able toward the main handle for putting the chain under tension, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiir; my signature.

ADOLPH STUEWE;

each. by, addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, B. B. 

